Swimming pool cleaner



Dec. 27, 1938. R. B. EvERsoN 2,141,811

' 'SWIMMING POOL CLEANER Filed March 20, 1957' I l J 'Y i qmQ//fz Patented Dec. 27, 1938 PATE SWIMMING POOL CLEANER Roy B. Everson, Chicago, Ill.

Application March 20,

6 Claims.

My present invention relates to means for cleaning swimming pools, and similar structures, and it is especially designed to remove sediment slime and other foreign matter that may be de posited upon the bottom or floor of these structures. In practice, my apparatus embodies a housing or head having an opening in its bottom through which an adjustable brush protrudes, said housing being adjustably supported on rollers which facilitate movement on the iioor of the pool. Means are provided for removing the water and foreign matter that has become detached and agitated by the brush, and baiiiing devices are installed within the housing to equally distribute the iiow of matter through the housing. Other means are provided to prevent inadvertent sealing of the intake aperture of the housing and to assist in the removal of sediments deposited by certain types of water.

It is the purpose of my invention to provide a device for cleaning swimming pools that has nu- Inerous objects in view among which are, compactness in the formation and disposition of the component parts; sturdiness and novelty in construction; efficiency in the performance of its required functions; facility of operation; and economy in manufacture, installation and use. I prefer to practice my invention in substantially the manner hereinafter more fully described and as particularly pointed out in the claims, reference being herein made to the accompanying drawing that forms` a part of this specification.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a top plan of my cleaner for swimming pools.

Figure 2 is a central vertical section thereof taken longitudinally through Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section thereof on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

It is to be understood that the drawing is, in a sense, merely schematic and is for the purpose of disclosing a typical or preferred embodiment of my swimming pool cleaner. In the drawing the same reference characters are used to designate like parts wherever such parts are shown in the different views.

In carrying out my invention, I employ an elongated boX-like housing that is preferably a casting made from non-erosive material such as brass or other suitable metal. This housing consists of a horizontal top 5, vertical parallel sides 5 that depend from the longitudinal edges of said top, and vertical ends 'l that are connected at its top and side edges to the adjacent corresponding of the top and sides of the housing.

1937, Serial No. 132,140

(Cl. ZIO-206) I prefer, however, to omit the bottom wall, so that the housing is a substantially U-shape in vertical transverse section as seen in Figure 3, thereby providing a relatively wide opening or mouth at its bottom of approximately the same 5 dimensions as the wall forming the top of the housing. At about the center of its length vthe top 5 has a discharge port 8 in the form of an integral stub that is preferably cast with the housing and is provided with facilities for coupling to it a flexible hose S leading to the suction side of a suitable pump It disposed near an outside edge of the pool where it may discharge the water and foreign matter removed from the pool into a drain.

An elongated brush structure is enclosed within the housing and is disposed with the lower portion of its bristles Ii protruding out of the open bottom of the housing to an extent suicient to engage and eifectively wipe the surface upon which the cleaner is moved. The back or body i2 of the brush preferably is an elongated metal bar having horizontally extended lugs i3 at its ends that fit between parallel vertical guide ribs lli arranged in pairs on the inner faces of the ends of the housing. 'The back or body i2 of the brush is considerably less in width than the inside width of the housing, and has a baiiie plate l5 superposed thereon. This plate l5 is of such dimensions that it extends beyond and overhangs the sides of the back l2, but its edges are spaced from the inner surfaces of the walls of the housing to horizontally divide the interior of the latter into upper and lower portions that communicate with each other through elongated slots or passageways i6 extending along the edges of the bafe plate I 5.

I have provided suitable means for vertically adjusting the brush as well as the baiie with respect to the bottom opening of the housing, such means also permitting the ready removal and replacement of the brush and the baiile plate Wherever desired. To accomplish this, upstanf ing posts il' are preferably anchored at their lower ends to the metal bar l2 forming the back of the 45 brush and have their upper portions extended through smooth apertures I3 in the housing top. Elongated adjusting nuts i 9 of the sleeve-type are screwed down upon the threaded upper portions l of the posts until the bottom ends of said nuts engage the outer face of the housing top. Thus, by rotating the nuts i9 in one direc tion or the other the brush structure is raised or lowered with respect to the bottom opening of the housing and the surface being cleared. The

brush and baille plate are yieldably urged downward in the housing by coiled expansion springs 2| that surround the posts I1 between the baffle plate and the housing top and are maintained under compression by the adjustingrnuts I9. By loosening and removing these adjusting nuts the brush and baiiie plate may be readily removed through the bottom opening of the housing.

I have found that certain kinds of deposits upon the surface being cleaned and certain types of sediments require a special construction or nozzle on the housing in order to effectively remove such deposits and sediments. For this purpose I provide relatively flat shoes 22 of angular or substantially L-shape cross section as shown in Figure 3 that extend horizontally from the lower portions of the sides of the housing. The lateral upstanding flanges of these shoes are removably attached to the housing by bolts, and the free outer marginal portions of the shoes are curved or flared upward away from the bottom of the pool as shown at 23 in order to enlarge or increase the height of the intake portion of the nozzle.

The housing is supported above the surface being cleaned by means of rollers 24 that are pref.- erably made of hard rubber or other suitable material to prevent marring the tiles with which pools are usually surfaced. The spindles of these rollers are journalled in the pendent arms of inverted U-shaped holders 25 that are secured to adjacent ends of side-frames 26 that are disposed transversely across end portions of the housing substantially in the manner shown. Intermediate their ends these side-frames are upwardly arched, as at 2l, to bridge over the top of the housing and means are provided to conveniently adjust the side-frames at these arched portions with respect to the housing. Usually it is not desired to have the side-frames rest directly upon the housing because of the fact that the rollers frequently wear down to small diameters which consequently lowers the housing to close proximity to the surface being cleaned. I therefore interpose a plurality of shims 28 between the arched portions of the side-frames and the housing and connect all these' parts together by bolts 29 that pass through openings in the side-frames, the shims and the housing top. Thus, whenever the rollers become reduced in diameter, due to wear or otherwise, one or more of the shims may be removed from between the housing and the side-frames, and the parts again secured in place by the bolts. These shims are arranged in two side by side stacks or piles under each sideframe, and whenever one or more pairs are removed they may be superposed upon the top of the side frame and secured in place by the bolts 29 to prevent loss. Pairs of these removed shims are shown disposed upon the upper surface of the side frames as above described and are identified by the numeral 30 in Figs. 2 and 3.

It sometimes occurs that one of the roll-ers may accidentally break or become badly chipped due to hard usage and under such conditions a corner of the housing will ordinarily drop down into engagement with the tiled surface where, if unobserved, it will scratch or otherwise mar these tiles. In order to avoid the likelihood of this damage occurring I have extended the ends 1 of the housing down below the horizontal planes of the lower edges of the sides 6 and shape these extended portions convex to provide outwardly curved skids or rockers or runners 3| that have no sharp portions and will permit this portion of the cleaner structure to glide or slide over the surface without damage to the tile. Suitable eyes 32, preferably four in number, are screwed into the sides 6 of the housing to afford facilities for removable attaching draft-chains, forked handles or other devices 33 to the cleaner structure in order that the operator outside the pool may conveniently push or pull the cleaner along the bottorn surface and thereby guide it in the desired path.

When the apparatus is being used, the hose 9 is coupled to the suction side of the pump at one end and to the outlet port stub 8 at its other end, and after the draft-chains or other devices have been connected to the eyes 32 the cleaner is submerged in the pool until it rests upon the bottom thereof. When the pump is started the housing is slowly moved preferably in back and forth directions from one wall to the other wall of the pool in a regular manner, and during this movement the brush Il agitates the sediment and wipes the deposit from the surface being cleaned below the housing While at the same time the action of the pump sucks the foreign matter and water under the shoes and through the open bottom into the housing where it moves through the passageways I6 and is drawn olf in the hose to be discharged by the pump into a drain. By forming the restricted passageways I6 the baie plate I5 tends to equally distribute the suction throughout the length of the opening in the bottom of the housing.

What I claim is:

1. A swimming pool cleaner comprising a submergible elongated housing provided with an inlet opening in its lower portion and having a discharge port, a brush in said housing protruding through said opening, means for adjustably and yieldably maintaining said brush in engagement with the surface upon which said housing is moved, a bale within said housing above said brush, transversely disposed side-frames straddling end portions of said housing, rollers on said side-frames for maintaining said housing in spaced relation to the surface being cleaned, shims interposed between said side-frames and said housing, leading and trailing shoes extending laterally from lower portions of opposite longitudinal walls of said housing, skids extending below the lower edges of the housing walls, and a pipe leading from said discharge port to the suction side of a pump.

2. A swimming pool cleaner comprising an elongated housing having a longitudinal inlet opening in its bottom and provided with a discharge port, a brush carried by said housing and engaged with the surface being cleaned, elongated rigid side-frames removably disposed transversely across and bridging the ends of said housing, rollers on said side-frames supporting the housing in spaced relation to the surface being cleaned, devices for vertically adjusting said side-frames with respect to the housing, and means for removably anchoring said side-frames and said adjusting devices on said housing.

3. A swimming pool cleaner comprising an elongated box-shaped housing having an open bottom providing an inlet of substantial dimensions, a brush within said housing disposed with its lower portion protruding through said inlet,

elongated'rigid side-frames disposed transversely across opposite ends of said housing, rollers on said side-frames, and means for adjustably and removably mounting said side-frames on said housing whereby to raise and lower the housing with respect to the surface being cleaned.

4. A swimming pool cleaner comprising an elongated box-shaped housing having an open bottom providing an inlet of substantial dimensions, a brush within said housing disposed with its lower portion protruding through said inlet, elongated rigid side-frames disposed transversely across opposite ends of said housing, rollers on said side-frames, means for adjustably and removably mounting said side-frames on said housing whereby to raise and lower the housing with respect to the surface being cleaned, and leading and trailing shoes of substantial width projecting horizontally from opposite sides of said housing in approximately the same plane with the housing inlet. f

5. A swimming pool cleaner comprising an elongated box-shaped housing having an open bottom providing an inlet of substantial dimensions, a brush within said housing disposed with its lower portion protruding through said inlet, elongated rigid side-frames disposed transversely across opposite ends of said housing, rollers on said side-frames, means for adjustably and removably mounting said side-frames on said ho-using whereby to raise and lower the housing with respect to the surface being cleaned, and downwardly curved skids at the lower edges of the end walls of said housing, which said skids extend below the horizontal plane of said housing inlet and are normally out of contact with the surface being cleaned.

6. A swimming pool cleaner comprising an elongated box-shaped housing having an open bottom providing an inlet of substantial dimensions, a brush within said housing disposed with its lower portion protruding through said inlet, elongated rigid side-frames disposed transversely across opposite ends of said housing, rollers on said side-frames, means for adjustably and removably mounting said side-frames on said housing whereby to raise and lower the housing with respect to the surface being cleaned, leading and trailing shoes of substantial width projecting horizontally from opposite sides of said housing in approximately the same plane with the housing inlet, and downwardly'curved skids at the lower edges of the end walls of said housing, which said skids extend below the horizontal plane of said housing inlet and are normally out of contact with the surface being cleaned.

ROY B. EVERSON. 

